Lot’s a people look back at civil right’s activists as heroic…and they were and are.

But I also find inspiration in learning how normal…dare I say, average…many of the freedom riders were.

I look at their mug shots, pictures taken after they were arrested for attempting to exercise their constitutionally protected right to travel without being segregated in the South, and I see people I could know…students, sisters, brothers, fathers, athletes, musicians and so forth and so on.

I see you and me…doing the incredible, making history, and triggering a confrontation between bullshit and reality that ultimately made the world a better place.

Outstanding…amazing…unstoppable…and yes, do-able.

I see hope for the future in those faces from the past.

And I can’t wait to find out more about them just like I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish today.

One of the perks of being an organizer is being able to witness people waking up to their individual strength and power…finding their voice and putting on their walking shoes.

I owe a lot to those brave folks who participated in the Freedom Rides in the ‘60s…but I truly believe their greatest gift is that they demonstrated to power of the people and that the movement was of the people.